“The Creek Ate My Homework!” Try Explaining That to a Strict Teacher

#Understatement: Getting to school wasn't always as easy as it is today.

iStock/kemter

My husband, Harold, loves telling our grandchildren his story about walking to school in the 1940s. Every weekday the kids in his town of Walnutport, Pennsylvania, had to make their way to school by crossing a bridge over the Lehigh River to the town of Slatington.

It was about a mile walk, a long way for a youngster, and in the winter it could be a struggle. The sidewalks would be covered with snow, and sometimes they were very icy. The slope of the bridge was quite steep, and the kids would take a couple of steps forward and slide backward, then try again, hoping they wouldn’t be late for school.

One day Harold fell while making his way across the bridge, his books and homework flew out of his hands, slid down into the creek below and eventually floated into the river. Try explaining that to a strict teacher!

Harold had to sit on the classroom radiator that day to dry off. And adding insult to injury, he also had to buy two new schoolbooks. My guess is most kids don’t have quite that much trouble getting to school nowadays.